My thoughts on my new Yamaha CD-S1000 SACD CD Player

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Sneaky Pete, Jul 3, 2020.

  1. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I’m not a pure subjectivist. I am interested in measurements. I believe that there is a correlation between measurements and sound. I also know things that measure great can sometimes sound terrible. In those instances I think we are measuring the wrong things or not measuring something significant.

    Designing good stereo equipment and assembling a satisfying system is part art and part science. The most sensitive and telling measurement tool for music reproduction is the human ear.

    I do not believe that gear above a certain price will almost always be good or very good. I’ve heard some expensive gear that sounded terrible. I find discussing our subjective listening experiences helpful in making choices that lead to successful system matching.

    I used to rely solely on guys like Julian Hirsch and magazines like Consumer Reports when shopping for gear. But I had too many bad experiences purchasing recommended gear that did not sound good in every day use. I found Stereophile and The Absolute Sound reviews much more informative when shopping for gear. Reading good reviews combined with the advice of a reputable High End specialist retailer has served me well.

    Like I said before based on your original post I think our listening experiences may be similar. And I agree that we should keep the discs spinning and the music playing. I did not mean to mischaracterize your original post.
     
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  2. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Back in the day I'd spend hours at local audio shops in and around Boston. Places like Tech-Hifi, Tweeter, Goodwins, Natural Sound and others were where I went to demo gear. Armed with my favorite vinyl or later on CDs I'd sit for hours switching between different gear. But eventually I found that demoing gear in my room was a much better choice. So I no longer go to shops in the area to demo gear. Now with an abundance of authorized audio dealers online with 30-45 return policies it's easier than ever to demo gear at home.

    As far as online reviews I tend to focus on actual user reviews from members here and on the AVS forum. I rarely read trade magazine reviews online but sometimes do find them helpful. Over the years I found it somewhat obvious that certain audio magazines would not review gear unless they advertised in that magazine. Also found that when online audio companies were becoming popular certain magazines would not review that gear either.
     
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  3. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    So, I gave myself one of these for Christmas. So far, I am loving the sound of this unit. Comparing to my NAD 568, it is more detailed and airy sounding. The NAD is a great value for the money, though.
     
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  4. Sterling1

    Sterling1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Sidebar: Although I purchased my OPPO-205 for multi-channel SACD analog output, I find it's gapless stereo usb B and gapless stereo/multi-channel thumb drive inputs attractive. My only disappointment is Network input, which is not gapless and which re-arranges album music in alphabetical order.
     
  5. CBackley

    CBackley Chairman of the Bored

    I’ve noticed several retailers say they’re low on stock for the Yamaha CD-S1000. Is this unit going out of production?
     
  6. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    I’d still try to shop local if possible, especially with their home tryout policies. I’ve had great luck with Audio Video Therapy in Nashua and have Fidelis (also in Nashua) on my list. Aside from a very good AV integrator in Scarborough (Tucker) I don’t know of many boutique dealers on the NH seacoast or ME.
     
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  7. Casino

    Casino Senior Member

    Location:
    BossTown
    Ah, dems was da days! Went to all of 'em, except maybe Natural Sound (then again, maybe I did). We also had Atlantis Sound - great people there...
     
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  8. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    So, I've been listening to this player for over a month, and am having a hard time with regular cds. They sound very bright to me, actually harsh, sometimes. There is a distinct lack of bottom end, too, compared with my NAD. That said, sacds sound great.
    I know some have said that there might be some break in time. I might have 40 hours on the machine so far.
     
  9. Sterling1

    Sterling1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    The unit could be processing the CD’s more truthfully than what you have heard from other DACs.
     
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  10. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    I've recently been playing some Sepremes in four different CD players and the other three are all within a range, and pleasant to listen to. The S1000 is by far the outlier.
     
  11. Sterling1

    Sterling1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville, KY
    Sorry about your luck. I have a Sony CDP-601ES, Sony DVP-9000ES, and OPPO-205. All play CDs and seems to me the CDP-601ES produces a better sound from CDs than the aforementioned SACD capable players.
     
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  12. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    I owned a DVP-9000ES and also thought regular CDs sounded too bright and harsh on it, much the way he describes the Yamaha 1000.
     
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  13. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    I spent the night listening to sacds, and am very impressed with the sound compared to the cd layers of the same discs, played on either the S1000, or the NAD. I might just need to keep the NAD in the system for cds.
     
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  14. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Any update on this?
     
  15. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I haven’t had that harsh sound but the presentation of CDs is not as warm as my old CEC. I kept that player too. Initially I thought the Yamaha sounded bass shy but I found the bass is all there and deep just not as forward. I’m listening to Crusaders 1 on CD now and I can feel the deep bass pressure on the bottoms of my feet.

    I bought a bunch of masterings of What’s Going On and I found some of the early ones were bright. The Marvin Gaye Anthology double in the fat boy case has some bright mixes of the old Marvin 45s.

    Last night I listened to Steve’s mastering of Ray Charles Modern Sounds of Country Music on DCC and it was fantastic. Anyway I’m glad you are digging the SACD play back. It is competitive with analog. It’s cost me a few bucks because I went on an SACD binge. It was totally worth it. :)
     
  16. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    I think I agree with you about the bass. It is there, just in a different presentation than the NAD, but maybe better. I'm still getting too much high end, such that it is almost painful, on cds. I have turned the treble down a little, which is better, but I don't want to have to fiddle with tone controls every time I put a cd in. I'm seriously questioning if I can live with this player. Of course, it is past the return date, so I guess I'll have it for a while, at least.
     
  17. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Maybe you’ll have a dedicated SACD player and CD player. Too bad you are not getting good synergy, I’ve been there and it’s not fun.

    I’m listening to the first US CD release of Supertramp Crime of the Century now and it sounds great. What I hear is more detail like the harmonics surrounding piano notes, and it’s easier to distinguish the separate sounds of each horn in a horn section. It still holds together sometimes that can be like dissecting the performance. My old Denon sounded that way to me. It took the music apart and laid it bare but the feeling was gone.

    NAD gear is very good at putting across the feeling of an organic performance. I like it a lot, I have three NAD amps and receivers. Reliability is my only issue with NAD.
     
  18. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Sorry to hear this. How is the midrange?
     
  19. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    I like the detail, it is just the treble that is annoying. Great description of the NAD's sound.
     
  20. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    Midrange is good, maybe not as good as the NAD, but I could live with it. Just hoping the high end smooths out. Pete describes all of this better than I.
     
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  21. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    That's the way my Denon sounds at times.
     
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  22. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    Have either of you had any experience with Marantz sacd players?
     
  23. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I like the Marantz sound and I almost bought one. The model I wanted wasn’t available and I thought I’d try the Yamaha. Plus a few members were complaining about Marantz reliability.

    After I bought I saw some people complaining about reliability issues for Yamaha too. So it may be purely a matter of the luck of the draw.
     
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  24. ggjjr

    ggjjr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Grosse Pointe
    Yes, my impression from posts is that they are comparable in quality. I remember reading that the Marantz players were on the warmer side, like NAD players. I wanted something different, and seem to have gotten it.
     
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  25. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    My Denon took a long time for the high end to smooth out, especially for SACDs, something like 300 hours of SACD playback.
     
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